Women Already Have The Tools To Break Glass Ceiling

Glass ceilings are emerging as the employment law issue for the `90s. These artificial barriers to management positions have been cited as a major reason for the two-year-old campaign in Congress to rewrite our civil rights laws under the banner of reform. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin has unveiled an aggressive new initiative to closely monitor the promotion practices of government contractors and use a ``500-pound hammer`` to shatter glass ceilings that illegally deny employment opportunities in the executive suite. While the Department of Labor`s new program is designed to benefit both minorities and women, the glass-ceiling phenomenon has been viewed primarily as a ``women`s issue.`` Similarly, the 1991 chapter of the continuing saga of civil-rights reform has focused on the perceived need for additional protection against gender bias. But women`s rights have not always been in the vanguard of the equal-opportunity movement. A short history of Title VII`s passage shows that adding sex to the law was an afterthought.

Nineteen sixty-four was a landmark year for the civil-rights movement. It marked passage of the federal law prohibiting employment discrimination against minorities and women. But 27 years ago the focus of the debate in Congress was race discrimination, not women`s rights. In fact, sex

discrimination was thrown into the legislation like a hand grenade in what most informed observers view as a last-ditch effort by Southern lawmakers to kill passage of the civil-rights law. The strategy backfired, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act became the law of the land. Ironically, this political miscalculation has resulted in decades of progress for women`s rights.

Now, the effort in Congress to ``improve and strengthen`` or ``restore and reform,`` or ``fine-tune`` our equal employment opportunity laws has spotlighted women`s rights. Reform advocates have gone so far as to rename the bill-the Civil Rights and Women`s Equity in Employment Act of 1991. The legislative package is designed to increase protection against sexual harassment, smash unfair barriers to job advancement and allow suits for punitive damages.

With all of the political rhetoric surrounding civil-rights reform, you might think the federal government has done nothing to ensure fair employment for women. Of course, women`s rights have been protected for decades by a variety of federal laws. Women`s fundamental right to equal employment opportunity has been guaranteed since 1964 by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The recent $4 million settlement of a class-action sex discrimination case involving systematic denial of promotional opportunities to a class of female employees of a major hotel chain demonstrates that this law is a powerful tool for shattering glass ceilings in American industry.

Also, the right to equal pay for equal work has been assured since 1963 by the Equal Pay Act. Any employer who intentionally pays a woman less than a male employee for the same job will pay a penalty of double damages. And, under Executive Order 11246, all government contractors (some 270,000 American companies) are required to enhance job opportunities for women by engaging in affirmative action. These companies are required to hire and advance women into job classifications where they have been underutilized or risk losing lucrative government contracts. An entire generation of working women have benefited from this comprehensive government program. Under Martin`s new glass ceiling enforcement initiative, even more progress can be expected for this generation of working women.

Congress has reacted swiftly when the Supreme Court has pared back federal protections against sex discrimination in employment. For example, within months after the court decided that pregnancy discrimination was not prohibited under Title VII, Congress responded by passing the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. This comprehensive federal law requires employers to treat pregnancy the same as any other disability. So, job rights are fully guaranteed during pregnancy.

Similarly, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Grove City College, curtailing enforcement of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination in federally funded education programs, Congress swiftly enacted the Civil Rights Restoration Act. That law reversed the Supreme Court and restored freedom from sex discrimination in a multitude of educational opportunities.